Project information
The role of BOBBER genes in seed development

Climate change poses a major risk to food security as weather extremes compromise crop reproduction. Therefore, it is critical to generate elite varieties with enhanced reproductive stress resistance. Plants respond to heat by activating protective mechanisms to preserve cellular homeostasis. Among these, heat shock proteins (HSP) are crucial for maintaining proteasome function. The BOBBER (BOB) proteins are small HSPs essential for embryo development.
After returning from my maternity leave, I am resuming my research by investigating the roles of two non-canonical sHSPs, BOB1 and BOB2, in Arabidopsis seed development. I will conduct this work in collaboration with Dr. de Smet (Ghent, Belgium), an expert in phosphoproteomics. In parallel, I will analyze gene promoters and transcriptional regulators to map the gene regulatory network controlling BOB activity in seeds. Through this project, I aim to identify potential targets for breeding thermotolerant crop varieties that can perform well under suboptimal environmental conditions.